Beer in Scotland was traditionally categorised by invoice price per hogshead barrel. This ranged from 40/- ale (very light beer such as table beer, often supplied to farmhands in rural areas) up to Twelve and Fifteen Guinea ales. The latter were dangerously strong beers, usually bottled, and sold mostly in 1/3 pint imperial measures known as 'Nips'.

Other common beers in this distinctively Scottish system included:

54/-, 60/- (light and mild beers) 70/-, 80/- and 90/- for progressively stronger export quality beers

Though the price of a hogshead became much more than 40/-, 60/- etc, the shilling system continued to be used to denote an Ale's quality. This terminology eventually became legally recognised under the terms of the 1914 Finance Act (session 2).